again; but hardly
had the elephants moved, when there was a terrific roar, and a monstrous
tiger bounded out toward us, lashing his tail from side to side, baring
his white teeth, and laying down his ears as his eyes literally blazed
at us in the sun.

Brace's rifle rang out on the instant, and, with a snarling roar, the
beautifully striped beast swung his head round, made a snap at his
shoulder, then turned and charged straight at the rajah's elephant,
which uttered a shriek of dread, spun round, and dashed back at a mad
pace.

The tiger did not pursue, but, evidently untouched by a couple more
shots fired at it, came bounding toward us.

The doctor fired, but it did not check the onslaught, and the brute
bounded right on to the elephant's shoulder and tried to claw its way
into our howdah, as the mahout yelled with horror.

But the savage brute did not get quite up to us, for the doctor snatched
my rifle from my hand, held it with the barrel resting on the edge of
the howdah just as one would a pistol, fired, and the tiger dropped
quite dead upon the scorched earth.

An eager shout arose, and there was a round of congratulations as a pad
elephant was brought up from the rear, and the monster hauled across the
creature's back, and securely fastened with ropes.

But we did not stop to finish this, for the shouting and tomtoming was
growing plainer, and already a deer had trotted out of the tender growth
a hundred yards ahead, stood listening to the sounds behind, and then,
catching sight of us, darted down the valley at a tremendous pace.

A minute or two later, as we advanced, another deer appeared, turned,
and trotted back; while soon after, a huge boar dashed out, charged
through us, and was followed by a mother pig and her progeny, all of
which dashed downward for their liberty.

And as we pushed on, with the valley still narrowing, and the noise made
by the beaters increasing, animal after animal dashed past us, or,
seeing the line of elephants, crept back, but only to appear again, and
find that it could escape unmolested.

"No sign of another tiger, rajah," I heard Brace say.

"Yes, yes. There is another," he cried. "My people have seen him
twice."

"Perhaps so," said the doctor to me, in a low voice; "but he would have
shown before now, with all that noise in front."

He was wrong, though; for five minutes later, and when the beaters could
not have been above a couple of hundred yards away, anot